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Tennis Court Oath
After members of the 3rd Estate proclaimed themselves the "National Assembly" of France, the Tennis Court Oath was created to declare that they were not going to disband until a Constitution was created. -
Storming the Bastille
Rumors were created that the first and second estates were conspiring to end the revolution of the new self-declared National Assembly. Troops began to gather around Paris and look for weapons. Finally, on July 14, the troops stormed the Bastille, a prison. Killing the staff and freeing the prisoners, the prison that was a symbol of the aristocratic tyranny was destroyed. -
Great Fear
The Great Fear was a sudden uprising of the peaants, They feared an attack by nobles wishing to reengrain their claim to feudal rights. The peasants collected arms and attacked the nobles. Finally, feudalism was abolished by the French National Assembly due to the Great Fear. -
August 4th Decrees
On this date, the National Assembly met to dismantle feudalism and restore public order. The decrees were put into effect due to the peasant uprising. Basically, the French aristocrats gave up their specil priveleges due to the anger and threat of the peasants. -
Adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the CItizen
Document about human rights. States all men are created equal and should always be equal, the governement is created fo rthe purpose of protecting these rights. Marquis de Lafeyette contributed to it having fought in the American Revolution. -
Women's Bread March
Women of Paris march to Louis XVI at Versaille angry about the rising costs of bread. Bread was a staple food in their diets, so it was hard to afford it when there was so little money anyways. -
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed by the National Assembly during the French Reovlution regarding the Roman Catholic Church and the French governnment. The church was subordinated to the government in France. -
King Louis XVI's Escape
Louis XVI and his family attempted to escape from France in 1791, but they were captured at the town of Varennes and returned to Paris. The Revolutionaries were prepared to go to war against Austria and other countries, and Marie Antoinette was encouraging her brother in Austria to wage war with the revolutionaries. However, when France did declare war on Austria, Louis XVI was tried for counterrevolution and found guilty. He was beheaded via guillotine on January 21, 1793, and his wife followed -
Declaration of Pillnitz
Emperor Leopold II of the Holy Roman Empire and King Frederick William II of Prussia came together in August of 1791 and supported intervention in the French Revolution. The declaration was seen as a threat to France because Leopold II, who was the brother of Marie Antoinette, was going to use his military to restore the monarchy. Both the Emperor and Leopold the II agreed that this threatened the stability of Europe. -
Constitution of 1791
The Constitution of 1791 was the second constitution that the French wrote. The new constitution led to the creation of the French constitutional monarchy. Seperation of powers was a key concept in the new constitution.
